Submission by the Special Rapporteur on Disability to OHCHR thematic consultation on article 32 of the CRPD
1. Introduction
Article 32 hold special importance for developing countries since so much of the development currently undertaken in poorer countries in the South is contingent upon the transfer of financial support from the richer North to the poorer South.
The support currently given to poorer countries in the South usually takes the form of direct support to organizations of people with disabilities and seldom includes the development needs of people with disabilities in the normal development aid package.
This is called disability specific funding as opposed to mainstreaming disability in the normal development aid package.
This submission is strongly in favour of mainstreaming disability in development finance.
2. Objectives of Article 32
Article 32 states the following:
States Parties recognize the importance of international cooperation and its promotion, in support of national efforts for the realization of the purpose and objectives of the present Convention, and will undertake appropriate and effective measures in this regard, between and among States and, as appropriate, in partnership with relevant international and regional organizations and civil society, in particular organizations of persons with disabilities. Such measures could include, inter alia:
Ensuring that international cooperation, including international development programmes, is inclusive of and accessible to persons with disabilities;
Facilitating and supporting capacity-building, including through the exchange and sharing of information, experiences, training programmes and best practices;
Facilitating cooperation in research and access to scientific and technical knowledge;
Providing, as appropriate, technical and economic assistance, including by facilitating access to and sharing of accessible and assistive technologies, and through the transfer of technologies.
The provisions of this article are without prejudice to the obligations of each State Party to fulfill its obligations under the present Convention.
The objectives of article 32 is quite clear in that it calls for cooperation between states and in partnership with international bodies such as the UN, The World Bank, regional development agencies such as the African Development Bank and so on.
One of the critical objectives of the article is that it request that development be inclusive of the needs of people with disabilities.
It places emphasis on knowledge sharing and capacity building and mentions economic assistance.
Finally it emphasizes the fact that each state party should fulfill its obligations under the convention.
3. Mainstreaming Disability/Inclusive development
In its reference to international cooperation article 32 points out economic assistance as one of the provisions of the article.
Financial assistance from donor countries to the South usually takes the form of disability specific support; an organization of people with disabilities receives support for their activities or support to the recipient government for specific disability related activities.
This kind of support is usually small and limited and although it is of great value it leaves the rest of the donor support to a recipient country without any inclusion of people with disabilities. This means that if a country in the South receives financial assistance for the building of classrooms or any other public building there is no guarantee that the school or public building will be accessible to people with disabilities. Donors therefore often contribute to the construction of barriers and the exclusion of people with disabilities.
There appear to be a lack of awareness of inclusive development and although some donors have policies that calls for inclusive development and the mainstreaming of disability in development there’s no implementation or monitoring of these policies. This is apparent among donor countries that have ratified the CRPD.
[2]In some donor and recipient countries we have seen an increase in the number of people with mental and intellectual disabilities who are institutionalized.
Most of the developing countries in the South receive financial assistance based on their agreed development priorities which they present to the donor countries. This is then converted into the Country Assistance Program where the donors collectively agree to respond to the development priorities the recipient country presents.
Almost all of the support excludes the needs of people with disabilities and this is primarily due to a lack of awareness on the side of the developing country.
What adds to this is the lack of capacity, knowledge and information among organizations of people with disabilities in developing countries and a lack of monitoring by organizations of disabled persons in donor countries.
Developing countries also have an obligation to develop disability inclusive policies and programs.
Recommendations: It is recommended that monitoring mechanisms be developed especially in donor countries where inclusive policies exist and that local organizations of disabled persons monitor the implementation of these policies. In developing countries capacity must be built to ensure that organizations of people with disabilities can fully participate in the setting of development priorities and the monitoring of development activities.
4. Millennium Development Goals
People with disabilities have been largely invisible from the MDG’s and this we are told is due to the lack of reliable and comparable statistics.
However the latest reports make reference to people with disabilities especially as it relates to poverty and education. The report from Africa compiled by the UNECA makes less reference to people with disabilities and this is regrettable.
During the recent Conference of States Parties to the CRPD, participants were informed that the Inter Agency and Expert Group (IAEG), the UN body that is in charge of translating the MDG commitments into concrete targets and indicators, has created a task team on MDGs and persons with disabilities.
Recommendations: The Human Rights Council should commend the creation of the task team on MDG’s and disability and encourage the inclusion of statistics on people with disabilities especially in Africa.
5. UN Agencies
The attention paid to the needs of people with disabilities by the UN is at best uneven and sometimes ignored.
A good indicator of the lack of awareness and attention to disability is that many of the UN buildings are inaccessible and it’s very difficult to find any person with a disability employed by the UN.
The Inter Agency Support Group on Disability is in the process of releasing its guidance note that would provide information on how to include people with disabilities in their programs. It should also be mentioned that UNICEF is in the process of appointing a disability advisor to guide the agency in its inclusion of disability in its programs.
The guidance document will hopefully focus on the implementation of the CRPD and the need to facilitate the participation of organizations of people with disabilities in developing programs.
Recommendations: The Human Rights Council should support the Guidance Note from the IASG and recommend that the UN system itself become more accessible to people with disabilities.
6. Multi Donor Trust Fund (MDTF)
The International Disability Alliance and the UNDP recently entered into discussion on the feasibility of a MDTF on disability. Although this takes time to develop the Special Rapporteur on Disability is strongly in favour of the MDTF on disability.
Recommendations: The Human Rights Council should express its support for the creation of a MDTF on disability.
7. The Conference of States Parties
The Conference of States Parties can play an important role in monitoring the activities of various UN Agencies, as seen by the last COSP.
If UN Agencies consistently attend the COSP and present their activities with regard to people with disabilities it will enhance the inclusion of disability in their programs. It also provides Agencies with an opportunity to act with various governments, independent experts and members of civil society.
Recommendations: The Human Rights Council should encourage UN Agencies to participate in the COSP.
8. Concluding comments
International cooperation as envisaged by article 32 can provide much needed support to governments in developing countries as well as to organizations and people with disabilities.
Much of the support is depended on the implementation of existing policies by donor countries and the monitoring there of by organizations of people with disabilities.
There is clearly a need for a more robust engagement of disability inclusive development.
The UN system itself needs to be more responsive to the needs of people with disabilities and it’s unacceptable that its own offices are inaccessible to people with disabilities.
While I support the creation of a MDTF on disability the UN should consider the development of an agency dedicated to the needs of people with disabilities such as the recent UN Women or UNICEF.
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[2] Human Rights Watch, September 2010, “Once you enter, you never leave” Deinstitutionalization of Persons with mental and intellectual disabilities in Croatia.